Barton Hollow
by nicholex
Summary: Elena Gilbert's life was normal until she woke up to see that Earth was flipped upside down and in the wake of an outbreak. While on the search for her family, Damon Salvatore has made it his mission to get under Elena's skin, while she does the same. This is not a story about love, but about survival and keeping those you love safe, even if feelings are denied.
1. Prologue

_**Writer's Note - Alright, so anybody who is reading 'Stubborn Love' is probably wondering where my update has went for that. Well, I recently got inspiration for a zombie apocalypse Delena fiction that has been keeping be occupied. After much revising and editing and changing where I wanted this story to go, it's finally being posted for you all to read. Reviews are appreciated, of course, so please tell me what you think and if I should continue on with this. **_

_**On a side note, they will not be known as zombies in this story. Much like in 'The Walking Dead' they're known as walkers, but in mine - well, you'll just have to read to figure that out. Now, on with the story!**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any scenes that may come from The Walking Dead that I incorporate into the story.**_

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_**Prologue**_

"_Ain't going back to Barton Hollow_

_Devil gonna follow me e'er I go_

_Won't do me no good washing in the river_

_Can't no preacher man save my soul…"_

You know those moments where you know for a fact something's wrong, something's out of the ordinary and you can't place the moment you're in and how you got there? That's how the moment taking place felt. It was like you could hear a pin drop out there in the middle of a forest – a _forest_. The green vegetation piled up on treetops and the ground, the crunch you leave behind as you step upon it kept the girl going as she ran away from something she couldn't place. All you could hear was her breathing and the quietness around her. Suddenly, her toes caught on something which caused her to trip onto the ground face first. She let out a sound signifying the pain that formed in her side. It was coming closer now, she could feel it.

Groans and moans sounded from all around as figures moved out of the foliage. It frightened her to no end. She shivered as she got the courage to pick herself up off the murky ground, and she took off once again with determination laced on her face with an obvious fear that anyone could place from a mile away. Sweat beaded at her forehead before looking back at her components. They were slowly making their way in her direction without hesitation. It was as if the world moved in slow motion then, looking back the way she was going as she noticed she went around in a circle, a never ending one. Worried – that's what her feeling was as she took another route through the forest and bound toward the unknown.

Finally, she found the hope she was looking for as she spotted a figure, one unlike the others behind her, a much more normal one, up ahead. Her relief was soon replaced with discomfort as she saw it was her boyfriend's older brother other than him himself. Elena rolled her eyes, slowing down and stopping at a halt as the groans came closer. Damon was his name; raven haired, blue eyed, and a personality that either made you fall to his feet or force yourself to leave when in five feet of him. His signature smirk ghosted his face as if they weren't going to be attacked any moment by these beings of darkness.

"Damon," she said. "What are you doing here?" But there was a bigger question that should've been asked during their last moments. She placed a hand on her forehead before finally noticing that the beings were gone. Elena whipped her head back to see they disappeared. "Wha-" Before she could get the word out of her lips, there was a tug on her shoulder from Damon. Elena looked back at him, narrowing her eyes, but her mood changed from annoyance to fear when she saw his skin a sickly gray color and his eyes no longer looking like his beautiful blue ones. Wounds covered his body and his clothes were tarnished and ruined. He didn't look like Damon – well, he did, but not like the gorgeous one that roped in all the girls at school. He just looked old and _dead_ – as if he'd just awoken from the underground after being locked in a coffin for decades.

"Damon?" she screamed, hoping that he'd overcome the hunger that shown in his eyes. "Damon, no!" He grabbed her by her shoulders and sank his teeth into the right shoulder blade, her eyes now hooded and a silent scream escaping her mouth.

Elena gasped, waking up with a large jolt upward in her bed. The first thing she noticed once awake was the coldness beside her. _Stefan, _she thought with wonder. Elena couldn't understand where he was. Usually, he'd be with her every morning, but something was different. Instead of dealing with the thought further, she placed a hand onto he sweaty and pulsing forehead with small breaths leaving her mouth. Her dream was one she has never had before, and she didn't enjoy one bit of it. Her only hope was that she didn't have another one like it.

Confusing swept through her when she felt an uncomfortably odd emptiness coming from everywhere in her house. It was the quietness that filled the void somewhere deep inside her mind first. Elena gulped, throwing back the blankets and stepping onto the cold floor. She wondered why the heating wasn't on. _Hmm. _

Whenever something like this happened, her parents would be the first to jump at the chance to fix it; although nobody was really a fan of taking a trip to the basement where their heating system was placed anyway. So Elena didn't exactly blame them for not turning it on in the first place. Actually, her younger brother Jeremy was always the one to do it since Miranda or Grayson weren't in town at the moment. Most recently, their job as doctors took them to New York City.

Since it was a Saturday, Katherine and Jeremy should've been awake making pancakes, bacon, eggs, and the whole nine yards, but not today. Elena was aware of this as she passed their rooms, both empty and looking the same as they would if they would leave for school every five days Monday through Friday. _That's weird_.

Katherine was her twin sister, the bitch, the queen bee, every negative adjective under the sun mostly. Her room, unlike Elena's, was painted with rich red colors, looking both luxurious and seductive, much like Katherine's personality. Elena decided to let their absences go and turned around to walk downstairs towards the kitchen where she hoped there to be at least some premade bacon in her wake.

As she made her descend, the doe eyed girl saw that her sibling's shoes were missing along with Kat's keys and bag. From what Elena knew Jeremy didn't have any weekend in school suspensions. Hopefully he didn't.

They must have run out to grab some breakfast from the Grill. At least, that's what Elena figured. If they were anywhere else they'd leave a note. And there certainly wasn't any note to be found. She just shrugged and got to the kitchen and opened the door to the fridge. What she found was nothing but an unlit fridge with now warm food and drinks. This time, it was Elena that let out the groan. It reminded her of her dream, a _lot _about her dream. The things that were chasing her were now haunting her memory. She could practically make out the faces of the things that had an undying wish to end her. Whatever they were, they were terrifying and Elena knew that she wouldn't be the only one to agree.

Closing the fridge, Elena saw that even the toaster, coffee maker, and sink weren't working either. _You've got to be kidding me, _she thought in annoyance. Elena pretty much knocked the contraption over by the way she threw the door to the left. Something was going on, and by the way the hairs stood up on her neck, she knew that she'd be in for one hell of a ride.

Since there was no use in trying to make her something to eat, Elena moved into the living room where her socks soon felt extremely soggy in an instant. She glanced down to see a pool of red underneath her. Elena screamed, looking at the body that was moving around without any legs and only intestines hanging from hits lower abdomen. It was biting at the air, clawing its way towards Elena. It looked exactly like it had in her dream – and that's what scared her most out of it all.

There were tears falling from her eyes. She couldn't help it. The thing was just pulling its way towards her. Elena realized that it wanted to eat her just like Damon attempted to in her dream. With no shoes on her feet and a jacket to cure the cold morning air on her shoulders, Elena ran outside. There were no birds chirping, no local animals barking, and no cars in sight. The only thing you could smell was a rotting stench and the only thing you could actually see was that the whole neighborhood was trashed and littered with bodies. It was something out of a twisted movie. One that Elena wouldn't dare to star in.

Her hope was pretty much taken away from her now. She had no way of getting herself out of this mess. The only idea she had was to pinch herself awake. It had to be a dream. It just had to be. That's all she wanted. Elena wanted to wake up in a nice warm bed with the love of her life with her bratty sister chiding her down the hall while Jeremy sleeps in until noon and her parents make the whole house breakfast. Those dreams were just crushed right before her eyes.

But she knew she shouldn't give up. She had a fighting chance – she knew that. All she had to do was make a plan along with setting it in motion. If she had a strategy, planned it out, and all that jazz, Elena could find a way out of the mess that she, and pretty much the rest of America, were in.

Elena might not be the most logical girl ever, but she knew how to come up with a plan with determination in her stride. She knew it wouldn't be too hard in finding allies and shelter and food. Alright, so food might be a bust seeing as though it was already past eight and people probably raided the local grocery stores for their stash. A stash that might not come in handy since it looked like half the town was wiped out by the way the bodies looked all around her. Yet something looked different in the bodies. Instead of looking human and completely mundane, they looked alike in so many ways. Each body looked as if it had risen out of a coffin, but Elena knew that wasn't the case as she took a few steps toward each one. Some had wounds all over their bodies from either bites or bullets or even an arrow that was in the heart of one as she passed it. The smell is what really got her. Elena coughed, covering her mouth with her hand in disgust. This was not just another nightmare. It was obvious something happened that she was unaware of during her sleep.

She backed away from the scene as if it burned her. Elena knew that she'd have to find someone to explain everything to her; what was happening and how to go about the situation; but she could plainly tell that there was nobody within miles. Elena wouldn't even try to go over to her friend Caroline's house. Most likely, she'd be gone with her sheriff and mother Liz. The girl sighed and slowly walked towards her friend's house anyway, just to make sure that she was okay or if she was even around.

The route Elena took didn't take long at all. In fact, Elena was surprised at how short it took to walk from her house to Caroline's. The one story house was white with windows that had black shutters around them and a grey rooftop. Unlike her house, this one was smaller in size and they didn't have a wraparound porch – just one large enough to at least fit a good ten people that had chairs and an outdoor table with nothing on it but leaves and dirt. Elena could tell they haven't been home for a while. Liz must've seen it coming. But how?

You could hear the sound of rubber soled sneakers on the porch loud and clear until you only heard her knuckles graze the door three times before standing there and waiting. It felt like a lifetime before Elena saw that the door was unlocked. Probably for her, who knows? She silently climbed inside the house to see it to look perfectly neat and clean. The only thing that stuck out to her was a large piece of paper with her name written in large letters and an arrow underneath it pointing downward. Guns and ammunition were underneath that said arrow.

Elena grimaced at the thought of carrying a gun. She didn't even know how shoot one, let alone load one. The gun was a dark grey color and wasn't heavier than the average house phone by the looks of it. It was sitting on its side beside the two boxes of ammo, the sight nearly causing Elena to think twice about the decision she could be making. Guns made her nervous for some odd unknown reason. Maybe it was the fact that it was just a fearful object that was a ruthless killer like the person behind the trigger. Elena didn't know as she glided her finger down the side of it with only the soft pads of her fingers. It was smooth and cold against her dainty little hands. Suddenly she picked it up, observing it.

_Think, Elena, think, _her conscience persisted. Doe eyed, innocent Elena Gilbert had to make a choice about what she planned on doing. It was going to be a hard journey up ahead, but if she kept her chin up, nothing looked unbearable – except maybe the monsters that would chase after her.

The girl placed the gun down onto the counter again and made her rounds throughout the house looking for a bag. It was a good thing Caroline had a collection of tote bags from over the years because Elena wouldn't know what to do with herself if there hadn't been any. After getting a large leather tote out of Caroline's closet, she rushed downstairs into the pantry and found more food that they didn't bother to take with themselves. Her hands reached for a few bottled waters and crackers as well as some peanut butter. If she ought to eat crackers, she at least had to make them taste decent.

Elena turned the light off in the pantry after she left it. The gun and ammo were in the same place and practically stared at her when she walked back towards the front door. She bit her lip in thoughtfulness, but placed the ammo inside the bag and kept the gun out in her hands. Caroline should've really thought this through when allowing her to take the weapon of choice. An instruction manual would have been helpful and save Elena the time and effort on replacing the ammo without shooting herself.

With everything packed up, Elena exited the Forbes residence and walked back onto the sidewalk. She didn't make it far, however, because she saw a herd of the things up ahead. They weren't facing her. They were just slowly walking around with forced mumbles coming from their lips. Elena raised the gun, but was stopped short when she saw one run right towards her. She screamed, causing all the others – maybe six at least – to turn around and charge at her like the first.

Elena took off in the opposite direction, each foot hitting the concrete with a strong impact. She knew she had to be faster than her average speed. If these things were going to get her, she wouldn't know what to do. All that ran through her mind was to run towards the center of town and into the Grill. It seemed logical that there'd be some decent shelter there. Then she would try her hardest to figure out her plan without any weight on her shoulders.

Now, Elena felt herself grow tired by the time she reached the square. Looking behind her, she found that the things were still plotting their attack. _Come on, Elena, you can do this, _she told herself as she whipped her head around, spotting the Grill up ahead. Elena picked up her speed once again and pounded her hands on the locked restaurant doors as she found they were locked. It was obvious that nobody could see her since everything was boarded up. Hopefully someone was in there to save her from being eaten alive.

The groans were closer now and Elena squeezed her eyes shut after leaning her head on the door. She was going to die. She could feel it now as they made their way towards her shaking body. Elena felt the tears rise within her, pouring from her eyes as she weakly pounded on the door again. But then she heard it – the gunshots. They were loud and forceful, coming from somewhere up ahead.

Elena looked behind her and stared at the bodies now lying in piles with a bullet in their head. She wiped the tears away and slowly walked away from the Grill to glance at the roof top of the establishment. To her surprise, nobody was there. This made Elena practically lost her balance and fall to the ground on her knees. She couldn't survive with only one gun and hardly any nutrition on her back. She was all alone in the world and she doubted whoever shot the things that now stared up at her would even give her a chance and let her inside.

She sobbed into her arms that now wrapped around her small frame. Something stopped her when she heard a husky silk like voice up above her. She was happy, yes, but at the same time annoyed at who it was that was speaking to her.

"Just go away," Elena silently cried. She did not want to deal with his sarcastic little attitude.

"Come on, Elena," Damon pestered, grabbing her by the arms and forcing her to her feet. "Is that any way to talk to the person that shot down those eaters?"

The girl looked at him through her tears and stopped crying. "That was you?"

He nodded, "I don't let pretty things die, Gilbert."

Elena felt herself cry once again, and as if she wasn't controlling her body, rested her head on his chest. Damon, on the other hand, didn't know how to react. He simply kept his hands at his side as she sobbed over God knows what. He bit back the smirk that was forcing its way upon his face after she contained herself and glanced back up at him.

"Can we just…go inside?" Elena asked. Damon nodded and led her inside through the back door behind the Grill. He opened up the door like a gentleman and tried to make her smile by shooting a smirk her way. It was no use because she continued rolling her eyes at him with every chance he got.

As they made it inside, Elena saw that Caroline was there along with Liz and Tyler, but those were the only people in sight. No Jeremy or Katherine, not even Stefan. Although she was worried about their whereabouts, Elena hugged Caroline tightly when she walked inside. It was good to finally be around people that she knew and loved, even if one of them only stood feet across the room wasn't exactly someone she loved with all her heart. It was just good to know that there were people she could rely on, and as she pulled away from Caroline, she gave Damon a smile and mouthed 'thank you' towards him for the first time since their encounter only minutes before.

Within seconds, there was loud pounding on the outside of the doors, and Elena knew that it wasn't just another survivor. If you listened clearly you could hear the eaters from the other side of it. She just looked back at Damon and saw him grab a shotgun and another bag, swinging it over his shoulder. The muscles in his arm rippled and Elena quickly looked away, blushing feverishly.

Damon spoke again, "I think it's about time we start relocating."


	2. Chapter 1

_****__**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any scenes that may come from The Walking Dead that I incorporate into the story.**_

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_**Chapter 1**_

It felt like an eternity since they left the Mystic Grill in the wake of an apocalyptic disaster. When in reality it has only been a good two weeks. By now, Elena, Liz, Caroline, Tyler, and Damon were stained with dirt and blood and smelled like a decaying body. It's been rough for all five of them, and Elena hasn't toughened up since Damon told her clearly that she shouldn't cry when they were out there fighting for survival. That was only a few days ago and so far his words of wisdom didn't work. They did the complete opposite and caused Elena believe that she _should _be crying, that she _should _fall to the ground in tears because she had her doubts that they weren't going to survive.

Survival was hard, and finding a decent animal in the forest was even harder. Since the eaters came into view, the game has been complicated to find. It was frustrating at times, but Elena knew that she had to keep her head up no matter how many times it got her down.

Elena was sitting alone on nothing but a blanket, staring at the orange fire across from her. Caroline and Tyler were asleep already on nothing more than blankets on top of blankets too. It was all they had until they could get to a store that sold tents and other equipment. Looking across from her, she glanced at Damon who had his knees propped up against his chest and elbows on his knees. Elena knew he was thinking the same thing as she.

Elena bit down on her lip and got up from her spot and plopped down beside Damon. He didn't acknowledge her. "Hey," she said in the nicest way possible. She and Damon didn't have a good relationship. There was constant bickering and name calling and sarcastic comebacks, not to mention his occasional flirtatious comments toward her. You'd think that since they were fighting to survive that they'd go a little easier on each other, yet that's not the case. Instead of working as a team they worked as rivals.

Damon stayed quiet. _Okay then, _Elena thought. The crackling of the fire lifted the awkwardness a bit, but it was still there, and by the way Damon's posture stiffened up, she knew that he felt it too.

"Where do you think Stefan went?" she asked, hoping to make conversation.

Damon shrugged.

Elena took his quietness to heart, sighing in contentment and staring up at the starless sky. "How did this happen to us?" she asked, not even acknowledging it. "Life was perfect, easy…and simple. Now it's just trashed and we're fighting for our lives." Elena looked over at Damon. "I'm scared, Damon."

"I know," he muttered. "We're all scared, Elena, but we have to learn to deal with it."

"How can we deal with it, Damon? We're going to die."

"Don't say that," he shook his head.

"Why? You know it's true," Elena said as she felt the tears begin to brim her eyes. "For all we know Stefan and Katherine and my parents – god, my parents – are dead."

Damon finally looked at her. "Don't be such a downer, Elena. Things will look up."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I'm Damon Salvatore, I know everything," he smirked, and Elena about smiled, but she felt uneasy at the fact they were finally getting along. Instead, she pulled herself to her feet and told him she'd be going to sleep. Elena made her way over to where Caroline was sleeping and laid down next to her, cuddling the blankets up to her neck. In that moment, Elena knew that Damon was watching over her. She didn't even care if he saw her cry again, because finally, she did.

Elena woke up to the sound of screaming and gargling noises. _Not again, _she thought after opening her eyes to find Caroline on her ass and screaming as an eater came at her. The blonde girl had fright written in her eyes and kicked at the being, hoping it could put it off balance. But it didn't. The rib caged body that looked gray in the skin was wobbling, but maintained its posture. It kept going after her and Elena got enough courage to take a large hunting knife to the back of its head. The blade ripped through its flesh and you could see blood go everywhere, flying onto Elena and hitting Caroline in the eyes.

"What the hell?" Damon roared after coming out of the forest with Liz and Tyler. His anger deflated and he noticed what happened. He looked impressed with how Elena took care of things, but only for a moment. "Alright, give me the knife."

Elena tore it from its head and let the body fall to the dirty ground. "What? Don't you trust me?" she asked at his sudden request.

"Elena, just give me the knife," he pressed on, holding out his hand.

"Or what? You're going to remove it from my hands with force?" Elena didn't know why she was being so stubborn towards him. She was perfectly fine handling the weapon on her own. "I can carry a knife without hurting anybody or myself."

Liz placed a hand on Damon's arm as a sign to let her go. The older woman walked over and soothed her daughter from her outburst. You could still hear Caroline whimpering at the sight of the body at her feet. Who could blame her? This all was a traumatizing time for everyone.

Damon kept his eyes on Elena as she sat back down. His eyes raked over her body shamelessly. He'd admit that at one time, or _many _times, he considered seducing her into getting into bed with him – not that it never happened before - and he always enjoyed the fact that she was not one to mess with. She always rejected his compliments with a roll of her eyes or a scoff; it was natural for him to see her like that. Damon liked her fiery personality and always liked messing around with her at rough times. Smiling at himself, Damon turned around and grabbed his bag.

"Relocating again?" Liz asked as she came up beside him

"I think we're going to be doing a lot of relocating, Liz," Damon said.

Liz sighed, "Where to this time?"

"Wherever we can stay, maybe in the forest, maybe in a mall if we stumble across one."

"Well we should be close to Richmond. I know there are tons of shopping malls and stores, maybe some houses that still have plumbing," Liz explained.

"I doubt anywhere we find will have plumbing," Damon told her. "We're lucky to find a piece of bread let alone running water."

Liz nodded her head and went back to her daughter who was now on her feet with Tyler reassuringly rubbing circles on her back. Damon rolled his eyes and placed his bag on his shoulders and grabbed the shotgun on the ground and swung the sling onto his left shoulder. Everyone else did the same, grabbing their bags and weapons before setting out on their long journey ahead of them.

It was an hour into their hike when Elena caught up to Damon, abandoning her friend. She didn't say anything at first, but let out a sigh and decided to break their silence. "What's your master plan?"

"I don't have one," Damon said.

Elena grinned, "What a surprise. I figured you would since you're _Damon Salvatore_."

The raven haired man stopped in his tracks to face her. She was doing it on purpose – pushing his buttons. For what reason, he didn't know. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you're controlling and think you can handle every single thing that we do. For instance, you control what I do. 'Elena, hand me the knife' or 'Elena, you're going to hurt yourself. Put down the gun'. You're also distrusting, and it's a surprise everyone, not including me, voted you the head of the group like you're a leader and actually know what you're doing. In my opinion, a leader isn't supposed to underestimate their team and make sure they get a say in what everyone does," Elena said, and then suddenly it dawned on her. "But you only do that to me…"

Damon stayed quiet and you could see he was gritting his teeth behind his lips. If it were Caroline, Tyler, or Liz, he'd allow them to hold a weapon, but not little Elena Gilbert. It frustrated her to no end that he didn't trust her. In her opinion, she felt as if she'd do a better job at being the leader of the group. At least she'd count everyone in and not make one person or another feel left out.

"Let's go," Damon said before turning back to continuing their journey. Liz, Caroline, and Tyler followed along. Elena, on the other hand, stayed back until they were out of sight. She didn't want to put up with Damon for however long she had to. She had rounds of bullets left with her pistol and a pretty sturdy knife in hand. Elena could fend for herself, and that's just what she did.

The walk took a lot longer than anticipated, and they haven't even changed scenery yet. It'd been about fifteen minutes since Damon and Elena's heated little argument, and he hasn't heard her make another peep. _Weird, _he thought as he turned back to the people behind him. Damon instantly noticed that Elena wasn't there. Panic washed over him.

"Where the hell is Elena?" He asked furiously.

Caroline shrugged, "We don't know. We thought she was behind us the whole time."

Damon didn't buy it and knew they should keep walking, but threw his stuff onto the ground anyway in a fury. All he could see was red. Where was she? Where could she have gone? He knew that her disappearance wasn't just an accident. Elena did this on purpose to push his buttons. Congratulations to her because it worked. Damon was about ready to tear down trees by the look on his facee. Liz tried to reason with him, saying that Elena could handle herself. Damon chuckled darkly. Like she could. The only reason he restricted what she could do was so she would stay safe. He'd hate for something to happen to her. _It's all my fault_, Damon began thinking. Then he shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking like that.

"I'm sure she's fine," Caroline reassured him. "Elena's a tough girl even if it doesn't come off like it. She can fend off anything if she puts her mind to it. She's a very determined person, Damon. You and I should know that. We've known her forever." But Caroline laughed dryly. She knew her words of wisdom were wrong too, Damon could sense it.

Caroline was right about one thing - he did know Elena quite a long time. Ever since they were children, he's been there by her side. Stefan had been too, but Damon had always felt closer to her. It was weird since there was a large age gap. Damon was twenty-two, Elena seventeen. That's five years. Not that it really mattered, anyway. Damon could remember all the times he could make the doe eyed girl laugh while others couldn't during rough patches. That was when she could actually stand him. When she waltzed into the ninth grade, she no longer cared about Damon's presence. Sure, the still talked, but it was mostly Damon making arrogant comments or being flirty, while Elena would glare daggars at him. That was also when Stefan started dating Elena. Damon didn't approve, yet kept his mouth shut. He was eighteen then, a senior in high school nearing Graduation. He couldn't be hung up on a thirteen girl. But at the time, nobody really blamed him. By that time, Elena looked like she belonged in the Senior class.

"Damon," Caroline's voice pulled him from his thoughts with a snap of her fingers.

"What, Blondie?" He asked after containing himself.

"Are you going to go find Elena?"

Damon pondered on the question for a moment. He didn't know if he really wanted to or not. It was Elena's fault if she got attacked by an eater, nothing he could do about it. It was her choice and he didn't want to be the one to pick up the pieces if it happened. Her stupid decision was her fault and he wasn't going to be held accountable to help her. Elena was on her own now. _Although_, Damon also knows that he couldn't really do that. He knew he could be heartless at times, but he didn't want to leave her to die in the middle of a forest by an eater.

Damon decided against answering the girl. "Let's just stay here for the night," he said.

"Damon," Liz warned.

"It's Elena's decision, Liz. If she gets killed," Damon almost choked on his tongue,"it's on her. There's nothing I can do about it."

"How can you be so heartless?" Caroline hissed. "It's Elena! She's our friend, Damon. We can't just let her out there all alone."

Damon stood up in under a second, his nose almost touching Caroline's. She jumped back as if being burned. "You don't think I know that? I do, Caroline! But this is on her, not us. We can't be dragged down by her careless decisions. If you want to go and get her, be my guest. Just know that I won't be following."

Liz pulled Caroline away from Damon's now downcast stare and she gave him the coldest stare she could ever muster. He shook his head and looked around at their surroundings. He was worried, more than ever, but that didn't mean he was going to be the knight in shining armor. If Elena made the choice, Damon just hoped that it blow up in her face.

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**_Writer's Note - I should mention for any future reference that I deeply apologize if Elena comes off a bit out of character. She's going to be really stubborn in this story and she's pretty much looking forward to making Damon mad whenever she can. ANYWAY, what do you think about the decision Damon made? Is he crazy or is Elena getting what she deserves for making the dumb choice she made? Since I'm feeling nice tonight and feel like indulging in giving you a spoiler, I would like to say that Elena and Damon are going to be away from each other these next few chapters (unless something happens in the story that just comes out of nowhere) so that means there won't be much Delena, but never fear, their thoughts will definitely be filled with each other c;_**


	3. Chapter 2

_****__****__**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any scenes that may come from The Walking Dead that I incorporate into the story.**_

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_**Chapter 2**_

The ache in Elena's legs made them feel like jelly, almost falling to the ground here and there. She couldn't stand it anymore. The fact that she smelled like a sewer rat and looked like one made it harder to endure the world any longer. So far, she hasn't run into any Eaters. _Thank god, _Elena thought in realization. It was just about time for the crickets to come out and the moon was almost in full view. Being a lone wolf was better than Elena expected. She didn't have to deal with Damon's rules or his 360 personality.

Damon. Elena leaned against a tree, thinking about him. Was he worried about her? Would he search for her? She didn't know as she held onto the memories she had with him. Some were happy, others were just torture. Elena shook her head at his blue eyes that invaded her mind. It was like she couldn't shake him and it had been like that for quite a long time. Elena didn't deny that he was attractive. In fact, when she was little she would always talk Caroline's ear off about Damon. She would talk about the little things he did; like just laying his eyes on her or nudging her with his elbow. That was when Elena was eight. She shouldn't have been fawning over boys. She should've been awaiting the release of Barbie's or My Little Ponies instead of having little school girl crushes.

Then things changed when she was in the ninth grade. Like any other girl, Elena ditched her girlish mind and Damon too, choosing Stefan after they became a lot closer during classes. She fell in love with him and didn't regret the choice she made. Elena didn't even think of being anything more with Damon like she did when she was only in Elementary school. They no longer got along and Elena didn't put up with Damon's actions. Although she could tell there was hurt in his eyes when she drew the line, he just put up his usual act of not being hurt. It pained Elena afterwards, but it was for the best.

Suddenly, Elena jolted off the tree when she heard loud grumbling noises and groans coming from somewhere ahead of her. Her heart beat a mile a minute as she hurried to place the knife that she kept safely in her hand into her bag and draw the gun from it. With sweaty palms and nervous shakes, Elena placed the bullets into it. She felt the water burn the back of her eyes. Elena was going to have a full blown panic attack by the sounds she heard.

After dropping a few bullets, but getting the magazine completely filled, she slammed it up into the handgun with what little force she had on her shaky hands. Elena picked up the remains and zipped the backpack back up, swinging it onto her shoulders once again. The metal was cold against her hands and warmed up against the sweat that coated her hands. Elena was so nervous and fearful. A silent cry came from her lips after doubting herself. She regretted leaving the group, she felt so stupid. Feeling like she was going to die anyway, Elena dropped down to her knees in sobs. Her rats nest hair got into her eyes and she pushed it back behind her ear. _You can't give up, _she cheered on in her head. _Think of Stefan, Jeremy, and Katherine – even your parents. _Elena calmed herself down, though there was still that fear placed in the back of her mind.

Elena got up on both feet and gulped. She slowly walked towards the groans. They got louder with every two steps she took. Then, she saw a clearing. It wasn't until she stepped out that she saw it was a road. A road – hope ceased her and a smile appeared on her face. Elena could literally jump for joy if there wasn't a pack of Eaters to the right of her.

There were at least seven of them and they were all eating what looked like to be an elderly man. Elena almost gasped in shock – _that poor man_. It was a shame that these things actually _ate _humans. It caused the girl to cringe in disgust. Then she took a step back and maybe if she hadn't done that she wouldn't be in the predicament she is in now.

Elena watched as each of them, one by one, picked themselves off the man. One came towards her. Its hair was matted and bugs obviously took it over as a new home. The dress the woman wore was tarnished and was hardly wearable. Its jaw was torn off, blood and muscle hanging from what remained, and it just kept coming towards her with a moan coming from its throat. Elena brought the gun up and pulled the trigger, missing the Eater's head. It hit it in the throat, causing it to swing back and forth. It seemed as though the Eaters were attracted to the sound because they all came at her at full speed.

Elena turned around and ran. Her breathing was rapid and her feet hurt with each step she took, but she wasn't going to back down. Not now. She feared death and didn't want to become one of these things if she were to be bitten. Damon told her that if one bit you and they didn't maul you to death that you would turn into one of them. If Elena would make a choice, she'd tell anybody around her to kill her. She didn't want to be a heartless killer like the creatures that now flooded the Earth.

While running, Elena gripped the gun and pulled back the slide to load the cartridge again. Then it happened. It jammed. Elena didn't believe that could actually be possible. She didn't slow down, however. Elena swung her backpack off her shoulder and took out the knife. If the gun wasn't going to work, she would have to stab each of them. Elena didn't like that but it was the only option now.

Her confidence was low. But she took a chance. Elena turned on her heels and brought the knife above her head before impaling the one in the dress right in the head. She let out a sigh of victory before moving onto the other ones. The next one was a male and had cargo shorts on and socks, no shoes. Its face was intact, except for the grotesque skin color and glass eye in his right eye socket. Elena stabbed him in his left eye, the body falling limp at her knife flying into its brain. Elena didn't even take note of the blood that flew onto her face, hair, and body. She didn't even care anymore. She just wanted them dead.

It was all a blur until she heard the slow clap of hands behind her. By now she was on her hands and knees with gasps escaping her bloodstained lips. Slowly, Elena got up and looked at the intruder. The car headlights blinded her and then all she could feel was a pain behind her head and blackness.

* * *

The next day came by quickly, quicker than Damon wanted. He wanted to sleep for days. He knew he couldn't. He and his group had to keep going. It was going to be hard when all he could think about was Elena. She had him wrapped around her finger even though she wasn't even in their vicinity. He wondered if she'd come back, if she'd find them again. He doubted it as he got up from his blankets and let out a yawn.

"She'll come back, man," Tyler told him from his place beside Caroline. He was sitting up now and was pulling his shirt over his head. "Unlike Caroline, I don't lie through gritted teeth when I say that Elena's not going to make it out there."

Damon turned around to face him. "How can you be so sure?"

"I don't. I just have a feeling," Tyler said.

"Feelings aren't accurate," Damon said and turned around to sort through his stuff.

"But your feelings for Elena are," Tyler added with a chuckle at the end. "Come on, Damon. Everyone knows you would go to the end of the world for her. Some might even say you're in lo-"

"Shut up, Lockwood," Damon said darkly. He was not going to put up with any Elena talk or…love talk.

Love. Damon didn't even know if he was capable of love. He didn't even know if his feelings were even _love _towards Elena. Sure, he had a thing for her before, but not now. She drew the line and he kept away with a smile on his lips. A fake smile, most likely. Damon was hurt when they had the conversation about their relationship. Elena flat out told him that they were never going to date, that she was never going to have a thing for him. She made it clear that she'd put up with him for Stefan and his parents' sake. There was no need for sexual innuendos and inappropriate comments around her. Although Damon wasn't one to follow the rules, he did what he said but slipped up every now and again, not that Elena cared anyway.

"Damon?" Tyler questioned. "You okay?" The teenager was now standing beside him.

"Yeah...yeah I'm fine," Damon said before looking over at Liz and Caroline. "Make sure you wake them up. We've got a big day ahead of us."

"Where are you going?" Tyler asked once he saw that Damon had out his gun and was about to take off into another part of the forest.

"We've got to eat, don't we?" Damon snickered at the teens nod. "You can join me if you want, or you can stay here and paint your nails with the girls." He offered after seeing Liz awake from her slumber.

Tyler glanced at Liz and Caroline before taking his weapon, a very long hunting knife, and took off with Damon.

* * *

Elena could hear people talking around her. It all came out in mumbles, very cloudy mumbles. Her eyes finally opened a bit to see she was underneath a sheet that was held up by wooden and metal stakes. It was a tent, she figured. Elena groaned at the pounding pain in her head. Whoever hit her was going to get it – right in the face.

The tent was a tan color that light was shining through to give a certain glow to Elena's skin. On top of that, she was also lying in a green sleeping bag with flannel inside it. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Elena hurried to get the covers off of her. It was too hot for sheets to be on her.

There was a rusty bowl to her left that caught Elena's eye. It was filled with canned fruit; chopped peaches, pears, and grapes. Her stomach jumped at the chance to eat it. She grabbed the bowl and the spoon that came along with it and stuffed her face. A hearty moan came from her mouth. It was at least a day since she got food so her stomach should be thanking her.

When it was finished, Elena threw the bowl down onto the ground. That's when she took in her attire. Elena eyes widened at how clean she was and the clean clothes that were on her. _What the hell? _She was on her feet in an instant. Someone must've heard because a tall man with a 5 o'clock shadow and ash blond hair walked into her tent. Elena stifled a gasp.

It was her history teacher.

Elena stared daggers at him. She couldn't believe it. "What the hell, 'Ric?"

"Elena, calm down," Alaric told her. "It's fine."

Fine. How in the world was any of this fine? Was Alaric delusional or something? Elena had been hit in the back of the head, for all she knows by him, and he wants her to calm down and act as if it's all rainbows and unicorns? Elena wasn't going stand for any crap he threw at her. He may have a degree in teaching history and a strong bond with Damon, but Elena wasn't going to stand by and remark that any of this was alright.

Alaric continued talking and noticed shortly that Elena wasn't listening. "Elena?"

Elena glared at him. She wasn't going to make one peep around him. He made her feel uneasy even though she's known him for quite a long time. If he was going to make it right, she knew she'd have to go down kicking and screaming for that to happen. Elena narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, earning a pointed look from Alaric.

"So that's how it's going to be?" Alaric laughed. "If it means anything, I wasn't the one who was sent out to find survivors last night. I stayed here and heard that Hayley had to knock you out and sedate you to keep you from knocking the lights out of her on the ride over."

Elena was awake during the night? And she was sedated afterwards? It all confused her as she looked down at her arm and saw the patch of gauze wrapped tightly around her elbow and secured with tape. Where were they getting medical supplies? And why did she have to be sedated just to take her to safety? It made no sense and caused Elena to look at Alaric like she wasn't following.

"You were out of it and woke up and almost killed Hayley so she took at a needle and sedated you, at least, that's what I heard."

"You are crazy, Alaric Saltzman!"

"It wasn't me, Elena."

"Who is this Hayley girl? I'm going to go find her and deal with her myself," Elena said and shoved her way out of the tent. As soon as the sunlight hit her, she blocked her eyes and looked around to see many more people in her presence. They were all either hanging up clothing to dry or hanging out around two RVs plotted in the middle of the camp or just hanging out eating out of cans that looked to be fruit or beans. Some of them stared at her as if she was a new species of the human race, and then turned around to whisper about her to other people. Elena let out a snarl, but that was the moment when a hand grabbed onto her forearm.

"Elena?" the voice asked. It was all too familiar and Elena could feel the waterworks begin as she glanced to her left at her brother Jeremy. He pulled her into a hug and that's when the sobs emerged from her throat. "Hey, it's okay."

"Jeremy."

"I know, I know." Jeremy let go of Elena and took in her appearance. "You look good. A little boney, but hey, we can't fill our stomachs every night." Elena laughed along with him and wiped away the tears. "God, 'Lena, I thought you were dead."

"Ditto," Elena agreed. She again looked down at her clothes and wondered, "Who cleaned me up and changed me?" The thought of someone actually scrubbing her down and putting clothes on her body sent an uncomfortable chill down her spine. "Please tell me it wasn't some scummy no good guy who gets a high off of watching girls in bikinis."

Jeremy laughed, "No that would be Meredith Fell, the doctor at Mystic Falls."

Elena let out a sigh of relief. At least it was someone she knew and trusted. The Fells and Gilberts go way back so Elena knew Meredith pretty well. They weren't close enough to consider each other friends, but they were friendly acquaintances. After staring at her brother for a good three minutes, Elena hugged him once again. She was so worried he was eaten up or turned into an Eater. It was a good thing he wasn't because Elena wouldn't know what to do without him.

Jeremy placed a kiss on his sister's temple and pulled away. "I think it's time I give you the grand tour." He made it out like they were on a vacation or something, and by the looks of things, it was far from it.

"So, where are we?" Elena asked.

"We're just outside of Richmond." Jeremy pointed towards the skyline. "You can pretty much see the buildings from here."

"And why did they decide to pick me up last night?"

"Eh, every week they go out to see if there are any survivors still out there and bring them back to salvation."

"It's hardly salvation if you're forced to eat out of rusted bowls with bent silverware, 'Jer."

"At least it's something until we can find out what's going on," Jeremy shrugged. He led Elena around the camp and kept pointing out different areas that were important. "Past the trees here is a watering hole where we clean the clothes on washboards and get washed up. And over there are just two of the six vehicles we currently have, not including the campers that we use to go into town to get supplies if we run low or to find people like you."

Elena nodded and could honestly care less about what was where. She just wanted to get out of there. "That's…cool," were the only words she could say.

"Yeah, it's just the icing on the cake." Jeremy then stopped in front of a tent that was dark blue. "This is my tent. If you feel more comfortable you can stay in here with me."

Elena nervously tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "No…no it's fine, Jeremy. I'm fine where I am now."

"Are you sure?" He asked. Elena nodded and he gave her a smile before he heard the roar of an engine off in the distance. Soon, a vehicle appeared coming up onto the hill the camp was mounted on. "That would be Klaus."

The second she heard the name, Elena let out a low growl in her throat. Klaus Mikaelson was his name; one of five siblings. He had bad written all over him and was an enemy of Damon's for years. Every time Elena was with Damon out in public and Klaus walked in the room, he always tried to pick a fight with Damon. Then there was the simple fact that Klaus picked on Elena from time to time while growing up. However, that didn't last for long because he left the state with his father for their family business that had many locations across America. Seeing him again left a bitter taste in the doe eyed girls mouth.

"Is everyone from Mystic Falls here?" Elena asked suddenly, looking around at everyone's faces to see if she recognized anyone.

"Not everyone. I think it's just me, you, Klaus, Alaric, and Meredith."

"What about Katherine?"

Jeremy grew pale and let out a humorless chuckle. Elena felt her heart squeeze. Oh no. "Katherine's gone."

"Gone? Oh my god, Katherine's dead?" Even though Elena would love to push her sister off a cliff at times, she still loved her to death. And to hear she was gone just shattered her heart.

"No, no. Katherine's alive, I think. We just got separated a few days after we left."

Elena felt her face flame and pulled her eyes away from Klaus, who exited the vehicle and took off his dark sunglasses. "And why did you leave, Jeremy? And leave me to die there at home!"

"Oh, right, about that," Jeremy started. He was cut off when he saw a familiar face come into view. Klaus sent him a smirk. "Klaus."

"Jeremy," Klaus said. He looked down at Elena. "Elena, love. I didn't know you'd be here."

Elena didn't say a word. She wasn't ready to put up with another first rate jackass for the second time that day. If anything, she'd rather gargle down poison then spark up a conversation with the English lunatic in front of her.

"Silent treatment, eh?" Klaus mused. "You still look ravishing though." He stepped back to admire her appearance that was dressed up in simple tight fitted jeans and a black t-shirt that ended mid-thigh with her feet accessorized in her worn out converse.

"Back off, Klaus," Jeremy warned, taking a step in front of younger sister. Although he was only a year younger than she, he looked a lot manlier then one would assume. Sometimes he was accused of being eighteen once. Elena almost laughed at the memory.

"No problem, mate. I don't have eyes for her anyway. They're more for her blonde little friend."

Elena scoffed, "Like Caroline would ever go with you. She despises you, wishes you were dead sometimes."

"Lots of girls wish I were dead, Elena, yet sometimes they just can't ignore my charm."

"The only thing you're charming into your pants these days are going to be Eaters. So here's to hoping one eats you apart and tears off your-" Elena cut herself off, not wanting to cause a bigger scene after crossing her fingers and getting the wandering eyes of people around her.

Klaus simply winked at her and turned back to talk to a group of people.

"I can't stand him," Elena stated after turning around and looking at her brother.

"Nobody does, Elena," Jeremy said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Trust me, if an Eater doesn't get him, I will."

Elena only laughed as Jeremy tugged her along to finish off his tour

* * *

The crunch of bone against metal rang throughout the forest. Damon was finishing off the last Eater that had attacked them only minutes before by hitting it repeatedly with the hilt of his shotgun. He kept on swinging, earning more splatters of blood on his face and body. Besides the Eater, you could hear Caroline screaming at Damon to stop what he was doing. Apparently the crush of bone and the noise of blood didn't sit well with her.

"Damon! That's enough!" Liz screamed.

Damon stopped and stared at the Eater that lay in a pile of its own guts and gore. He stepped back, took a deep breath, and just fell to the ground. So many thoughts were running through his mind in that moment, things he didn't want to think or comprehend.

"Damon," Liz sighed. "We have to keep moving."

The raven haired man looked up from the body and his eyes stung red. Quickly and effortlessly, his demeanor changed and he was on his feet with determination in his eyes as if he hadn't had a tearful moment.

"Damon?" Liz raised a brow at him.

Damon nodded. "Yeah, let's…let's go."

Liz looked back at Caroline who nodded her head and Tyler did too. All four were ready.

Damon picked himself back up and made his way through the forest with the others in toe. His whole mind was still wrapping around the fact that Elena was no longer with them. He realized a while ago that he shouldn't be worried about Elena in the first place. What he should be thinking about was his brother and his parents. Questions about their location and how they were doing took over his mind. Damon just wanted answers. He knew that it was going to be a long time before they found them, but there was always that little glint of hope.

He was so out of it that he didn't notice the rest of his group stop. Looking around, he saw that amongst the mass of green leaves and bushes was a bright orange and grey tent with its natural dome like shape. Everyone hushed once they saw it, not daring to make another move in fear of whatever was in it would jump out and possibly attack them.

Damon looked back at Liz, Caroline, and Tyler, who were all wondering what to do, and placed a finger to his lips in a motion to stay silent. He motioned his head towards Caroline, wanting to give her the opportunity to go with him to check it out, maybe make a name for herself in the group instead of being fearful for their entire journey.

Caroline was hesitant. But the little nudge Tyler gave her was all the courage she needed. The crunch of leaves was finally heard as she and Damon made their way towards the tent. Outside of it laid out a small cooler and two lanterns on top of it with a walking stick leaning beside it. She clutched tightly on the hatchet in her hand as Damon guarded one side of the tent's opening, while she took the other side. Slowly, Caroline peeled back the fabric door and could feel her eyes burn by the smell the inside produced. Damon let out a groan as he tried to keep his eyes open.

"Jesus," Caroline whispered. "It smells like-"

"Death," Damon finished. He took a step inside the tent and noticed the bloodstains all over the inside. Sitting on a chair was the body of a dead male Eater and lying beside it at the base of the fold out chair was a female Eater. Both were dead and their clothes were stained with blood and bullet holes in their heads.

"What's inside?" Caroline asked from outside the tent.

"Two bodies," Damon said. He looked around for anything they could salvage and his lips pulled back into a smirk as he saw a gun in the male's hand and a knife beside the woman. Damon carefully removed the weapons and fled from the tent in an instant, the smell flooding his nostrils.

By the time the fresh air hit his face, Caroline was already ransacking the cooler. She found inside three water bottles, a package and a half of hotdogs, buns, and an unopened box of graham crackers. "I hit the jackpot!" Caroline cheered.

Damon smiled and his stomach grumbled loudly. God was he starving. Looking around, he noticed the fire pit that was made up of stones encircling sticks. It was a good thing because he had no motivation to trudge around and pick up every twig he saw.

"You found food?" Liz asked after coming up to them with Tyler in tow. Her eyes brightened when Caroline threw the package of hotdogs at her and caught them in midair.

"And water. Drinkable water," Caroline told them with a wink and handed each of them a bottle filled with water. There were four of them and three waters, so she decided to share hers with her mother.

Damon looked around and found a box of matches hidden behind the cooler. He took one out and flicked it against the box to ignite the flame. After throwing it into the pit he sat down beside the fire and just watched as the orange glow took over their skin with warmth.

"Psst, Damon," Caroline said while everyone was grilling up their food. He watched with a frown as she walked back over to the cooler and opened it up. "It looks like this guy had good taste." She took out a small bottle with a label on it marked with bourbon. "I think it's homemade by the looks of it. Can you even make bourbon at home?" Caroline shrugged and threw the bottle at Damon. "It looks like your day is looking even better, Salvatore."

Damon ran his thumb over the bottle without a word. Finally, he looked up at Caroline who wasn't even expecting a word from him. "Thanks, Blondie," he whispered to the point where she couldn't hear him. He removed the cap and sat back in wonder.

_My day is getting better after all_.

* * *

_**Writer's Note – Originally, this was two chapters but after looking it over I was like, "what's the point?" So I merged them both together and here you have it, a chapter nearing 5,000 words.**_

_**I would also like to say a big THANK YOU to the reviewers and those that follow/favorite. I haven't thought about replying to the reviews, but I just might start doing that so don't be surprised to see a lovely little message from me in your inbox ~~**_


	4. Chapter 3

**____****__****Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or any scenes that may come from The Walking Dead that I incorporate into the story.**

* * *

**_Chapter 3_**

A clap of thunder sounded throughout the camp and everyone hurried towards their tents or into cars to keep themselves from being soaked with jackets and blankets covering their heads. It was already past nightfall and they were just getting finished with dinner around the campfire when the storm began. Everybody left their food where it was and focused on getting to safety.

"This is bad," a worried woman said as she threw herself into the camper with her little boy at his side.

"Oh my god," another said and plummeted into a tent with a purple outside and gray flaps above its windows.

Everyone was so worried over a little storm. Elena sent a look towards Jeremy, who was sitting right beside her Indian style underneath his tent. He just shook his head and went back to putting his handgun together.

Elena kept herself in a sitting position and looked out of the windows of the tent with worry and confusion in her brown eyes. The rain pounded onto the tent to the point where Elena thought it would collapse onto itself. A string of lightening flashed out in the distance from where the tent was; brightening up the night in colors of purple and yellow.

"Eaters are attracted to sound," Jeremy said. "If they hear the thunder they'll go into a frenzy. We learned that the hard way a few nights ago."

Elena nodded, "How long have you been out here, Jeremy?"

Jeremy looked up from the gun and stared at his sister. "I've been here for about a week."

"Yeah…you still haven't told me exactly how it happened."

"What?"

"What happened when you and Katherine left me?"

"Oh, right," Jeremy realized. He set aside the gun parts and patted down right beside his sleeping back, insisting that Elena sit closer to him. Elena complied and did as suggested. "Katherine woke me up really late at night…"

"_Jeremy!" Katherine said, shaking her younger brother roughly. "Jer, wake up." Her usually sultry voice was replaced with panic and fright. "Jeremy, please! Wake up!"_

_Jeremy opened his eyes and blinked away the tiredness. "What the hell, Kat?"_

"_Jeremy, you have to get up and start packing." Katherine started tearing up and rushed out of the room. Jeremy could hear her run into Elena's room and shake her awake and scream her name. Minutes later, she rushed back in with his black backpack in hand and a rolling suitcase. "Start packing."_

"_Katherine, what the he-" Jeremy stopped when he heard the fire sirens go off from the middle of town, and all the other towns around Mystic Falls. "Katherine?"_

"_I'll explain everything on the way. Just please pack some clothing while I get food and things for on the road," Katherine pleaded. Before he could reply she was out of the room and down the stairs. _

_Jeremy did as told and packed some shirts and a few pairs of jeans into the suitcase. He grabbed his phone, the charger, and his laptop before shoving it into his backpack. All that time he was just focused on figuring out what was going on. _

"…_and now a message from the President of the United States," came a voice from his TV. _

_Looking across from him, Jeremy saw that his television turned on by itself and the president walked up to a podium to state what was going on. He could hear Katherine's, his parent's, and the living room's TV turn on with the special announcement. It seemed to take up all the noise in the house. Words of a virus came from the president's mouth, but Jeremy wasn't really focusing on that. He was more focused on the screams coming downstairs. _

"_Katherine?" Jeremy screamed and ran downstairs with his bags in hand. He saw her clutch tightly onto a butcher knife and hit a person across the head. Only it wasn't a person. It looked like a walking corpse that came in through the window. It had no legs and had guts that replaced its limbs where they once were. It was mumbling and groaning as it lay on the floor and left a trail of blood as it tried to pursue his sister. _

"_Jeremy, we have to leave. Now!" Katherine swung her bags over her shoulder and grabbed her car keys while they both slipped on their shows. _

"_What about Elena?" Jeremy watched as Katherine hesitated. "We can't just leave her here." _

"_I know, 'Jer, but Elena won't wake up. She's a deep sleeper and we can't wait forever." _

"_She's our sister, Kat! She'll die if we don't do something!" Jeremy screamed. He could hear pounding coming from outside the house and it sent shivers down his spine. _

"_I know that. But she's-" Katherine was silenced when all the power went off. It was eerily quiet. You could make out the sounds the things were making from outside and the screeching that came from the throats of the regular human beings around the house. _

"_Katherine," Jeremy sighed. _

"_Jeremy, listen to me. I am not doing this because I'm the most selfish person in the whole world, I know I am, but we have to look out for ourselves. If we're going to survive while the world's ending, we can't have dead weight on our backs. Elena would just slow us down anyway." _

"_Do you hear yourself right now?" Jeremy scoffed. "Elena can handle herself just fine and I'm going to get her." He was halfway up the stairs when Katherine flashed a flashlight onto his back. _

"_Do you want to die, Jeremy? Do you want to stick around and wait for someone while the whole world is under attack?" Katherine asked. "I get it. Elena is our sister, and I love her, but I'm sure if the situation was reversed she would be ushering you out of the house too." _

_The younger boy turned around and took a deep breath. His sister had a way of weaseling her way into people's minds and making them prisoner on the dark side. She won. Katherine figured out a way to get Jeremy to turn away from his sister. He looked back at the top of the stairs and debated the outcome if he stayed. _

"_Jeremy?" Katherine raised an eye brow, waiting for his answer. A loud boom came from out of nowhere. "Was that a bomb?" She looked outside the door real quick as she saw helicopters fly over their town and drop bombs a few miles straight ahead. Fire lit up the sky and she shuddered at the thought of dying. _

_Jeremy placed his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go, Katherine." _

_The seductress gave him a genuine smile and put away the flashlight. She didn't want to leave her sister behind, but Elena was asleep and could pass for drugged by the looks of it. _

_Jeremy and Katherine made their way into the red convertible with frowns on their faces. More bombs sounded through the air and they just hoped they'd make it out alive._

"…and that's what happened," Jeremy finished. "Katherine and I made it out onto a highway when there was this huge traffic jam and no way out. We literally had to jump out of the cars because the Eaters were flooding the place like the Hoover dam. Then we got attacked by a pack of them after we stayed in the forest for a few days. That's when we got separated. We were so focused on saving ourselves that we just kept running and shooting at these things."

"You had guns?" Elena asked.

"Katherine had Dad's gun in her glove box. Then we stopped at a gun store on our way out of Mystic Falls and got ourselves the rest of the ammunition that was left. Everyone was evacuated, Elena. It was crazy."

Elena played back the story in her mind and shook her head. "I was really passed out, wasn't I?"

"Yeah," Jeremy laughed. "I think it's because only two hours before you and Stefan were really hitting Dad's alcohol cabinet."

"It happened early in the morning? Wow." Elena didn't really know what to say at the tale that Jeremy told her. "Um, Jeremy? What happened to Stefan? He wasn't there when I woke up."

"I have no idea, 'Lena. He was gone when Katherine went in to wake you up."

Elena nodded her head slowly. Now she was worried about Stefan more than ever. There was a good chance he was alive, but then he could've been dead too, now that Elena looked at it.

Suddenly, Elena heard the rain stop along with the storm. She looked at Jeremy and got up from her spot and exited the tent. That's what everyone else was doing when they got out. Everyone looked at each other as a sign of relief that there weren't any Eaters in sight. Elena let out a sigh that she didn't realize she was holding.

"We're fine after all," Jeremy smiled.

"Eaters! Eaters!" someone shouted from on top the RV. They had binoculars hanging from their neck and pulled out a gun from a holster on his hip. "Eaters!" The rest of the camp grabbed whatever weapons they could, and some, unfortunately, had only their hands to defend themselves with.

That's when they all came out of the woods. The Eaters came at them slowly, taking all the time they needed before finally picking up speed and running at anybody they can. People fell onto the ground with screams echoing all around Elena and Jeremy. Elena watched as a little boy was attacked by an Eater. The tears running down his face crushed Elena.

"Here," Jeremy said, handing her the handgun she brought with her. "I found it along with your clothes."

Elena grasped the weapon and looked down at it as if it was a foreign object. The metal was cold against her palm and heavier than she remembered. With a smirk on her face, Elena turned around and held the gun out in front of her. She aimed at an Eater that was about to tear into a woman's neck. Its head flew back as Elena got it right in the ear. A smile formed on her lips.

"Good shot," Jeremy said and took his crossbow to help terminate the beings.

Elena hurried around the camp and watched as almost everyone was almost gone; their bodies lay on top of each other. She stifled a cry when she saw a little girl laying there with her doll in her hands.

"Elena, look out!" came from above her. She turned around and saw an Eater coming at her. The first shot she missed its head and instead the bullet went in the shoulder. Elena cried out when she tripped backwards on the little girls' leg, causing the Eater to fall onto her. It held a stench that was unbearable when she placed her hand against its neck to keep it from biting down on her neck or shoulder.

It kept biting at her, its teeth just clenching and unclenching each time, waiting for Elena's hand to slip into its lipless mouth. She stared up at its green rotting teeth and rotting flesh. This was the first up close encounter she had with an Eater. Letting out a scream, she noticed that her gun was no longer in her hand. _I'm doomed, _she thought when it's sunken in eyes came a bit closer to her face. For such a skinny and unhygienic creature, it sure did pack a punch.

Everything moved in slow motion as its head swung to the side when hit with a bullet coming from somewhere beside her. It landed on top of her and Elena cried out when she saw that it was a scatter shot from a buckshot bullet. The bullet scattered and hit her hand when it hit the Eaters head.

Elena was hyperventilating at the excruciating pain that formed in her hand. All you could hear now was her sobs; no more screams coming from those that were arm's length away from death. It was all one blur, but she could tell a pair of strong arms picked her up from her spot on the ground and carry her into one of the RVs. Looking up, she saw a pair of blue eyes, not as blue as Damon's, but she away the thought and didn't even focus on that. It was the English accent that caught her off guard.

"Love?" Klaus asked with worry in his eyes. "Elena?"

Elena couldn't speak. The pain was overpowering the gears in her mind. She couldn't even make out what color the ceiling was as she laid sprawled out on the RV's couch let alone explain what was wrong. She heard a few more people walk into the RV. By the sound of their voices, it was Jeremy, Alaric, and Meredith.

Then an abundance of brown curls were in her sights and she took note that it was Meredith coming to fix her hand. "Elena?" she asked. "Elena, can you hear me?"

Elena nodded her head faster than she could manage and a pounding formed in her head. She must've hit it when she fell down.

Meredith turned around and gave the boys direct orders on what to retrieve from her tent. Once they were gone, she looked down at Elena and the tears were still coming from her eyes and her face was emotionless. Elena couldn't even form an expression at how much her hand stung from the pebble like bullets.

"Elena, I know it hurts, but you have to tell me if you can hear me. It will only make it worse."

That's when her face twisted into the average cry face. Her eyes crinkled and her mouth opened to form a sob. Elena just wanted the things out of her hand; she could feel them there underneath her skin. The bullets may not have been as big as the one the Eater got in the brain, but man did they hurt.

"Just…" Elena mumbled. "Just get them out!"

"Okay, okay," Meredith said soothingly and wiped away Elena's stray tears. "You're going to be fine, sweetie."

"Here," a male voice said. Elena moved her head a bit to the side and saw Jeremy hand Meredith the supplies. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She'll be fine. It's pretty much the shock that's caused her to cry. It's been an emotional roller coaster for all of us…it just really hit her hard," Meredith said while emptying out some rubbing alcohol onto a cotton ball. She gently grabbed Elena's hand and dabbed the white fabric around the small bloody wounds. Upon closer inspection, she saw that her wrist on her right arm had the bullets caught underneath the skin as well.

"I didn't even notice," Klaus said. It was the first time that Elena heard him sound genuinely worrisome over something. "I didn't even think."

"Hey, man, it's alright. You kept her from getting eaten. That's the point here. You saved her, Klaus," Jeremy piped up.

Meredith looked up at the boys, "Can you guys give us some space? I should have her ready in an hour."

They all bowed their heads, bid a goodbye, and left the RV while Meredith tended to Elena's wounds.

* * *

The darkness clouded Elena's mind and overcame her whole body. She could feel it in her fingertips down to her toes. It flooded her veins, her body becoming weightless and flashes of different things underneath her eyelids. The images were of the grotesque creatures that now terrified people across the globe. She saw their teeth in her face and their fingernails clawing at her arms. It was all an illusion; she could feel it, although it felt so real. Elena couldn't even decipher what was real and what wasn't anymore, or if it was a dream or a nightmare anymore. Everything was flipped upside down in under hours, the world that was once Earth wasn't. The world was ending, and here Elena was, feeling every bit of the darkness that was the end.

Elena gasped, clutching at her throat as she sat upright on the dark black pavement. _Pavement? _Her eyes fitted over her surroundings. It was a highway that was cluttered with cars; some of their doors opened and unopened with belongings hanging out of them and on the road. She placed a hand on her forehead, feeling a warm liquid forming just under her hairline. It was blood.

She winced after applying unnecessary pressure onto the wound. Her fingers were covered with the red copper-like substance after removing her hand from her head. She wiped them on her jeans and picked herself up off the ground.

Elena made it on her feet, but she swayed back and forth, trying to maintain her balance. Her whole body hurt like Hell, she knew that much. As to why she was here, that she didn't know. Maybe it was dream – a nightmare. If it was, she hoped it wasn't like the one consisting of Damon biting into her neck.

She ran a hand over her face and blinked a few times. For some reason, Elena's eyes were extremely dry and it hurt a lot more than one would expect. Maybe she cried too much and drained herself of all her tears. Elena chuckled and closed her eyes.

Then, that's when it happened. She felt the wind knocked out of her and she could feel herself fall backwards onto a cold surface. She tried to open her eyes with no success. The pictures flashed again behind her closed eyes. This time, she was up close with the Eaters' eyes. The whites of their eye were a dark bloodshot red color, while the color and pupils were a bright color. All the while they were glazed over like being hit with gallons of water. Elena tried to move, feeling as though she'd be attacked by the images she saw. The Eaters kept shoving themselves at her and it caused her to squirm around.

"Test subject 376 is restraining against our procedures," a male said above her. "Subject is not opening eyes-" Elena felt him grab at her elbow. "- and there is no longer a heartbeat."

No longer a heartbeat?What kind of sick twisted dream was Elena inside? She was still restraining and felt herself grow sweaty and tired all the while gargling noises coming from her throat. Panic rose inside her and she forced her eyes open. There was a very bright light above her and she saw a man with blond hair looking down at her with a tape recorder held at his lips.

"Subject is conscious after," he said, looking at his watch, "fourteen minutes."

Elena wasn't even in control of her body. She could feel herself there, but more so trapped inside her skin. It suddenly dawned on her that she wasn't in her normal condition. She thrashed her head back and forth without a break.

"Subject is again restraining and seems to be succumbing to the virus."

Succumbing to the virus? Elena was in total shock.

"Rose, can you pull up the records of Elena Gilbert," the man said, turning around and abandoning Elena on the table.

"Already done, Dr. Maxfield," Rose said.

"Interesting," Dr. Maxfield mused. "Elena Gilbert, twenty-two, once resided in Mystic Falls now living with Mr. Salvatore in…Atlanta."

"She's a pretty interesting specimen," Rose said with a laugh. "I'm surprised she allowed us to test the virus on her."

"Hmm…" Mr. Maxfield clicked his tongue against the roof of her mouth. "She wanted to find a cure and she was only thinking about her friends. The only way, Rose, is to get the cure from a source of the virus. And since she was the only one in a ten mile radius-"

"I get it, Wes," Rose said a bit too harshly.

Wes stepped back from the computer and looked down at the creature that took over Elena Gilbert's body. It looked like her, yet you could still tell she was no longer the sweet small town girl she used to be.

"How about you take a look for yourself, Miss. Gilbert," Wes said. He grabbed a mirror and held it above Elena's face.

Elena, from inside her body, about cried when she saw that her features were replaced by one of an Eaters'. She had balding on her head, her skin was a dark blue-grey color, her eyes were red and bloodshot, and her whole body was covered in rotting flesh. She had bloody wounds covering her whole face including her neck.

"Rose," Wes said after removing the mirror from Elena's view.

Elena could hear something being placed into Wes' hand. Then she began thrashing around again, only being held down by the restraints on her wrists and ankles. She tried biting at Dr. Maxfield when she saw his hand come closer. It was like she was a rabid animal.

"Sweet dreams, Gilbert," were the final words Elena heard. They sounded strangely like Damon's voice, making her death a bit smoother as she lost all consciousness after she was shot through the head.

That emptiness returned again. It was so powerful and if Elena wasn't knocked out, she'd be crying at how alone she felt. The loneliness felt like she was trapped in a coffin six feet under. It consumed her, ate her all up in one bite. She wanted to do something about it, anything, and knew it was impossible in the state she was in.

Elena wondered if this was what death felt like. The only question was if she _was_ dying. She didn't understand why she would be. She didn't understand any of it – at all; the nightmares, the dreams, and the complete and utter chaos. The world was a sick, sick place now. Elena was no longer surprised at how things can go from being good to being bad in only seconds. It didn't make sense, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Elena?" a voice said, bringing her from her sleep. "Elena, wake up."

Elena sucked in a breath and jolted upright on the couch, only to hit a hard chest. Her breathing was heavy and her hair was pasted to her face. A hand tucked her hair behind her ear. Looking at him, she narrowed her eyes.

"Damon?"

* * *

_**Writer's Note – Confused yet? Well, so am I, to be honest. I was really skeptical on how this chapter turned out, but I actually liked how twisted and confused it made me so I kept it here. Do you guys think there's reasoning behind the dream she had? Or is she just traumatized by the crap she endured and her mind is screwing with her? I guess we won't know until future chapters (;**_

_**It also looks like someone is making an appearance, just not in the way you want him to ~~**_


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